More S'pore drivers plan to get petrol cars in next 2 years as interest in EVs drop

An increasing number of car buyers around the world are preferring internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles over electric ones.

In Singapore, 32 per cent of 300 respondents in consulting firm EY’s 2025 Mobility Consumer Index (MCI) plan to purchase ICE vehicles, up from 26 per cent in 2024, The Business Times reported.

Compared to global sentiments, Singapore's shift to petrol cars was less significant.

Half of global car buyers in the study indicated a choice for ICE vehicles, a jump from 37 per cent in 2024.

At the same time, preference for electric vehicles (EVs) still remain strong.

The study found that 58 per cent of Singapore car buyers plan to get an EV in the next two years, higher than the global average of 43 per cent.

Interest in EVs have dipped in Singapore, however, from 73 per cent in 2024.

The remaining 10 per cent of respondents in the 2025 study were undecided on their choice of vehicle.

Reasons for the shift

Consumer confidence towards EVs has been low in Singapore, according to the EY study cited by BT.

"The cooling of enthusiasm suggests consumers are taking a more cautious, practical view of ownership," said Sriram Changali, EY-Parthenon Asean and Singapore industrials leader, as quoted by BT.

Over half of the Singapore respondents indicated that their top concerns about going electric were with public-charger quality and charging interoperability, compared with a quarter globally.

More than 40 per cent also highlighted high battery replacement costs, while 40 per cent cited a lack of charging infrastructure, compared with 28 per cent globally for both concerns.

EV interest has faded in Singapore "despite government efforts to expand charging infrastructure across Singapore", EY noted.

Charging infrastructure access must be expanded, and more public education on battery charging, performance, and costs, is needed to drive Singapore towards a cleaner mobility future, the report added.

As for vehicles with other advanced technologies, Singapore respondents showed little comfort with autonomous driving due to fears of accident risks and technology failure.

Transitioning

As part of Singapore's Green Plan, the government will allow only cleaner-energy vehicles for new car and taxi registrations from 2030, and targets to have all vehicles run on cleaner energy by 2040.

In the meantime, businesses appear to anticipate that petrol cars will still be sought after.

For the first four months of 2025, Chinese EV maker BYD became the best-selling car brand in Singapore, overtaking Toyota to make up 20 per cent of new car registrations.

Despite the green enthusiasm, in July, BYD launched a hybrid electric vehicle that combines a petrol engine and an electric battery in the country, BT reported.

An Indonesian chemical and infrastructure solutions provider also projected a "managed transition period where petrol vehicles will remain in use", even as EV demand increases, it told BT in October 2025.

EY echoed this sentiment in its 2025 report, saying that major automakers worldwide are renewing their focus on petrol and hybrid vehicles, as well as moderating EV programs, in response to changing consumer demand.

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